


Otakebi Mansion

by JuulChii



Category: Berryz Koubou, Hello! Project
Genre: Betrayal, Gen, Ghosts, Horror, Maasa hero of the day, Mild Blood, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-03
Updated: 2011-04-03
Packaged: 2018-04-08 00:04:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4283058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuulChii/pseuds/JuulChii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Saki, Maasa and Miyabi enter the haunted house of DVD Magazine vol. 20, they get trapped in another dimension full with ghosts. Someone has put them there and it is the task of Maasa and her friend to get them all out alive. But who is responsible for this nightmare?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My very first Berryz Kobo/Hello!Project multi chapter fanfic! Uploaded on H!O in 2010 and rewritten a bit because my English skills leveled up a bit.  
> Still, please note that English isn't my first language.
> 
> Monologues are from Maasa's point of view.
> 
> Thanks to RiceChii, Miande and Shinpaul for the beta.

_Today, we went to an amusement park for our 20th DVD Magazine. In the beginning, Miyabi-chan blindfolded and brought us in a bus, where we made the teams. I was in team A, together with Risako-chan and Kumai-chan. Team B consists of Tsugu-chan, Chi and Saki-chan. It was really fun in the park. We did all fun stuff, like ice skating (my back still hurts from pulling up Momo) and did a treasure hunt._ __  
 _This time, for our last mission before the wrap up, we wanted to pay Miya back and we blindfolded her this time and showed her to the mansion, the Otakebi Mansion._  
  
"W-what are we gonna do here?" Miyabi Natsuyaki asked nervously. After she took of the blindfold, she stared to the big, old building, that didn't look very welcoming. It was four levels tall building full with weed and the outside was painted white but definitely aged.

All the Berryz Kobo members stood around Miyabi and grinned.  
  
"This is where you go in," explained Saki Shimizu, the Captain of the group. "This is what we call the Otakebi Mansion."  
  
"Really? Is this building really named after that?"  
  
"No, we just made that up," Chinami Tokunaga said. "But it's cool, eh?"  
  
"Cool?" Miyabi said surprised. "It looks really old and it's all dirty, you can't even see that it's white!"  
  
"Maybe it looks a lot better inside," Yurina Kumai said.  
  
"You mean darker," Chinami smirked.  
  
"No way am I going alone!" decided Miyabi. She crossed her arms and tried to look angry, but you saw in her eyes that she was scared, even if someone went with her.  
  
"Okay then, you can choose who's going with you, the others will go in groups later," Saki decided.  
  
Miyabi nodded and sighted with relief. She looked around and stared at every member. First to Momoko Tsugunaga, who immediately made a cross with her arms.  


"Dame, muri, yada! I'm not going in!" she almost screamed. Risako, who stood next to her, did the same.  
  
"Me too. I'm going to stay here with Momo,” she said.  
  
"I'll go," Maasa Sudou said, with her arm up. She walked to Miyabi, who was very happy to have Maasa with her and thanked her. Miyabi looked hopefully to Saki, who nodded, and was even happier.  
  
"So me and Kumai chan will go together?” Chinami asked. She gave Yurina a high five and said with full spirit "We'll be alright."  
  
The staff gave Maasa and Chinami a flashlight, explained to the two groups that one cameraman would follow them but they didn't have to worry about the darkness, the night vision would obviate that. Team Miyabi went first and Chinami and Yurina would follow later.  
Momoko and Risako wished them good luck, and told them to keep their walkie-talkie on, so that they could communicate.  
  
_And then we walked into the Otakebi Mansion, hearing Tsugu-chan and Chanrii yelling good luck. The first thing I noticed once we entered was a cold breeze waved by, but it soon passed away._  
Everything was dark; the only light came from our flashlight which I was holding. The corridor was narrow with many doors on both sides. Miyabi, who was walking between me and Saki-chan, gasped and held us tightly. I and Saki comforted her, telling that there is nothing to be afraid of. We sometimes heard Chinami and Yurina laughing in the walkie-talkie, so we thought that it wasn't as bad as we first thought. Nothing had come for us yet as we walked up the stairs to the second level. I sighed in relieve. Until… __  
  
" _What was that_?" a voice was heard through the walkie-talkie.  
  
Miyabi, Saki and Maasa stopped walking and listened to it. It was Yurina's voice that cracked out of the black box, which sounded very scared.  
  
" _I-I don't know,_ " stuttered Chinami. " _Let's just walk further_."  
  
Maasa picked up the walkie-talkie. "Hello? What is wrong over there?"  
  
There was a long pause. Suddenly, a loud growl was heard from the walkie-talkie. The two girls screamed in unison and panted, suggesting they were running.  
  
"What was that?" Miyabi squeaked.  
  
"I don't know," Maasa said, still listening to the device where Yurina and Chinami were screaming. Momoko and Risako also meddled with the screams, asking if they are alright.

"Girls, where is the cameraman?" Saki asked, as she looked around. Miyabi whined, repeating that she wanted to go back.

Then they heard something heavy has fall. The girls gasped and turned around. All of them tried not to say a word, even when Momoko tried to ask what was going on. Miyabi pinched in both Maasa and Saki’s hand. A door cracked open, and something walked slowly out of the chamber. It was panting really loud, and they heard it walking slowly towards them. Miyabi opened her mouth, but there was no sound. They were frozen, unable to move, as the creature came closer.  
  
Maasa's grip on the flashlight weakened, and fell on the floor. The girls snapped out of the trance, and the creature screamed. The light shined right on his face, and the girls could see his face. It looked maimed. Cuts and bruises were all over the face, and the eyes looked like two black holes. As quickly as she could, Maasa picked up the flashlight and the girls ran as fast as they could away from the creature. It didn't matter where, as long as it was far away from it. After they turned a corner, Miyabi opened a random door and hurried with the others close behind her. Maasa and Miyabi where lying on the ground as Saki smashed the door leaning with her back against the door panting.  
  
"What-the-heck-was-that!" Saki screamed. Miyabi was sobbing while Maasa tried to catch her breath. They were all speechless at what they just saw.  
  
Saki looked at the walkie-talkie in her hand, where a lot of noises were coming from. "Moshi moshi?"  
  
" _Finally_!" Risako yelled. " _What happened to you? Chi and Kumai chan are already back, and you guys didn't respond anymore!_ "  
  
"You have no idea what we just saw," Saki brought out.  
  
" _We heard all that scary stuff around us and we just ran as fast as we could outside_ ," Yurina told them. " _It was really scary, ne?_ "  
  
" _Right,"_ Chinami confirmed.  
  
"And what did you see?" Maasa asked.  
  
" _Nothing, we just run and founded the exit. The people who work there are really mean, making all those scary noises._ "  
  
" _Miya, are you alright_?" Momoko asked. " _You haven't said anything yet_."  
  
Miyabi was still lying on the ground, now on the side, with her face to the wall. Saki crawled to her as Maasa now stayed by the door. Saki made Miyabi to sit and gave her the walkie-talkie. Still not showing her face, Miyabi took it and said with a hoarse voice "Hello?"  
  
" _Miya chan! Don't worry! It isn't real, so just stand up and come to us, okay_?"  
  
"It wasn't someone who works here," Miyabi said, almost whispering. "I don't even think it's human." A sob escaped and she held her hand on her mouth to stop herself from crying loudly.

  
Saki held her hand as tears fell from Miyabi's cheek. Saki tried her best not to burst in tears. Maasa could only look to the ceiling, thinking of what just happened, and listened good to the sound behind the door.  
  
On the walkie-talkie, there was a pause. " _What do you mean, not human? It's just some people who were trying to scare you._ " Momoko said scared. The other girls where murmuring in the back.  
  
"There are no cameramen with us," Saki tried to change the subject.  
  
" _That's right, they just came back. Maybe we should've told you. But they told us they couldn't find you anymore._ "  
  
"Well, they can better come back here, we have it cold and are a bit lost." Saki looked at the door. "Maasa, could you open the door and see if it's safe?"  
  
Right when Maasa wanted to stand up, Miyabi turned her head at her. "Don’t!"  
Her eyes were red, full with black tears from her mascara. Her face was in terror, as she stretched her arm out to the door. "Don't!' she said again.  
  
"It's alright Miya," Saki said. "They won't scare us anymore, I just told them that-"  
  
Miyabi pushed Saki off her, making her stop in middle of her sentence. "Didn't you recognize what we just saw? It isn't someone who works here, but a ghost!"  
  
_to be continued_  
  



	2. Chapter 2

“W-what are you saying, Miya?”  
  
Saki and Maasa looked in shock at Miyabi, who just burst out something illogical to them. With fear in her eyes Miyabi looked at Maasa, who was about to open the door.  
  
“You know what I’m talking about, right?” Miyabi said to her.  
  
There was a pause. Maasa’s eyes grew big for a second but then relaxed, but she still didn’t said a word. Saki looked at Miyabi and Maasa, waiting for one of them to speak. Yurina was also curious. “ _What does she mean, Maasa_?” she asked through the walkie-talkie.  
  
“I don’t think this is a ghost…” Maasa said slowly.  
  
Tears rolled over Miyabi’s cheeks again. “You do think so! You just said it!”  
  
“Maa, what is she talking about?” Saki asked.  
  
“It was just a stupid rumor I once heard about this mansion,” Maasa snarled and looked away.

  
_Before our team entered the mansion, and Saki chan was talking to the staff, I told Miyabi a story I once read in a book. This was a lie, but I couldn’t tell yet where I heard this. Anyway, it was a story about this mansion we were about to go in._ __  
_This mansion had a passage that will lead you to another world, a world full of ghosts, and only people with strong hearts can get out of it._  
_But so far, no one has ever gotten out of that world. To escape, you have to do few quests to release the curse that would make the ghosts vanish. If you don’t complete these quests, you will be trapped forever and become one of them. I mentioned this topic again when we entered the mansion to Miya, because of the cold breeze I felt._

 _As I told Saki-chan the story now, I didn’t tell her that I was also scared._  
  
Saki looked confused when Maasa finished her story. She looked at Miyabi, who was still terrified. Her hands were shaking. “You don’t believe in that story, do you?” she asked calmly, holding her cold hands. She didn’t respond. Then she turned her attention back to Maasa, who still hadn't left her spot. “Why did you tell her this story?”  
  
Maasa shrugged. “I didn’t know she took it serious.”  
  
*  
  
Outside the mansion, Risako, Yurina and Chinami where listening to their friends with the only communication device they had. They tried to call their cell phones, with no success. When Maasa told her story, Chinami couldn’t help but to start giggling.

  
Risako gave her a stomp. “Stop it, Chinami!” She said angrily.  
  
“Okay, okay, I'll stop,” Chinami said, trying not to burst into laughter. “It’s just that, there is NO way that this story can be true. First, ghosts don’t exist and… Momo, what are you doing there?”  
  
She passed the walkie-talkie to Yurina and walked over to Momoko. She was crouching by a wall, with her face under her arms. Chinami and Risako came sitting next to her. Risako folded her arm around Momoko. “What’s wrong?”  
  
Momoko’s head came up. “A-are they a-already back?” she stutter. Her face was pale, but she wasn’t crying. Risako shook her head as an answer. Momoko slowly nodded and then sat in the same position.  
  
Risako bit her lip and looked worried at Chinami. Chinami’s face hardened, “Come on Momo. They’re just lost, that’s all. They will surely come back.” She grabbed her arm and shook it. “Just snap out of it!”  
  
“Shhh!” Yurina said suddenly. She held the walkie-talkie to her ear, and looked scared. Risako and Chinami quickly stood next to her, standing on their toes to listen.  
  
They heard Miyabi screaming, Saki yelling and someone slamming on the door. “ _Maasa, stay there!”_ Saki said, and then they heard loud cracking noise, and then silence.  
  
“We are no longer connected,” Yurina said slowly.  
  
Risako’s hands were on her mouth, and Chinami slowly fell on the floor. Momoko couldn’t hold it anymore and cried.  
  
_to be continued_


	3. Chapter 3

As Saki, Maasa and Miyabi talked the other members through the walkie-talkie, they didn't noticed that there was something walking through the corridors. Maasa, still sitting with her back by the door, suddenly felt the door vibrating softly. Before she knew what was going on, someone was slamming the door. Maasa yelled, getting the attention of Saki and Miyabi. The door shook again.  
Miyabi screamed and slowly slid backwards.  
  
"Maasa, stay there!" Saki yelled. She threw the walkie-talkie in the corner and ran to the door. Maasa stopped the door with her back as Saki came next to her and pushed it with her hands.  
  
"It is…strong," Maasa brought out. She pushed the door as hard as she could, not wanting to let the thing behind the door from entering.  
  
Saki grunted. Sweat beamed on her forehead. Her small body gave all she got. Suddenly she slipped on a stone that laid on the ground, falling hard on her stomach. The stone shot away, just missing Miyabi.

“Shit!” Maasa left her post and instead stood next to the door.

Miyabi didn't understood why she did it, but knew the answer as she watched the door, what stopped shaking. A ghost came floating through the door. It was like the room was frozen in ice. It wasn't the same one they saw earlier, this one looked like a woman with long black hair. Miyabi tried not to scream, her whole body was shaking with fear. Maasa also looked at the ghost in horror. She felt the cold in her body as she held her breath. The ghost then smiled and looked at Saki. She was lying on the ground coughing, not able to move.

Maasa closed her eyes. ‘ _Please leave her, please leave_ her.’

The ghost yelled with a high voice and flew through Saki.  
  
Saki’s eyes where big for a moment and gasped. She closed her eyes letting out her last breath. She didn't moved or made a sound.  
  
"S-Saki-chan?" Miyabi whispered. There was no response.  
  
Maasa opened her eyes. She bolded her fist and looked fierce to the ghost, who floated above the room. She knew what she had to do.  
  
"Miya! Grab the stone and throw it to me!"  
  
Miyabi looked up and looked to Maasa. Maasa’s eyes were sharp, her fists trembling. The brunette nodded and searched for this stone, not asking any question. She found it in the corner and threw it to Maasa. She caught it. It was a shiny, white and very small.  
  
"What will you do with it?" Miyabi finally asked.  
  
"I'm not sure."  
  
Maasa bit her lip. She felt her heart pounding in her throat. She was shaking and could pass out any minute. But then she looked at Saki. It was almost like she was…  
  
Maasa tasted blood. Now was not the time to think about it. The ghost looked like it was about to leap. It was now or never. She looked at Miyabi, who was looking confused and scared.  
  
"Trust me, okay." She forced a smile.  
  
Maasa took a deep breath, and then exhaled. In her palm she felt the stone getting warmer. She took the stone with her index finger and thumb and pointed it to the ghost.  
  
A bright light appeared from the little stone. The ghost screamed in a high pitched voice. The whole room was filled with white light, making it hard for Miyabi to see a thing. The voice became louder and higher. Miyabi put both her hands on her ears and closed her eyes. With Maasa's free hand, she stretched it to the ghost, and pretended like she was grabbing something. Then a vague, blue dot came out of the ghost. Her arm went down, pointing now to Saki, and she opened her hand. The dot disappeared, enwrapping Saki’s motionless body.  
  
Maasa staggered backwards and let the stone fall. The light vanished, and so did the ghost. Maasa panted and slowly fell to the ground. She closed her eyes, and didn't open it.  
  
_I opened my eyes. The room was white. It didn’t startle me, most of my dreams looked like that recently. I stood up, and began to walk._ __  
_There was no one. My footsteps echoed. I didn’t saw Miyabi or Saki. It was always me walking, hoping to find an exit and to wake up. But it wasn’t always me alone…_  
_“Ah, I see. You used the stone I gave you.”_  
  
_A familiar voice came out of nothing. Then, a little boy appeared to me. He looked like a ghost, grey and see through. He proclaimed to be a ghost, who was murdered in this building we were at. Lately, he made my dreams look like this, just to talk to me. He told me that we, Berryz Kobo, would come to this building and that ghosts will kill us once we entered his dimension. He gave me the little stone, saying I should use it when one of my friends were in danger._  
  
_“It has great power, eh? What this little thing all can do. You just have to use it right. It can make a ghost disappear or give back the soul that doesn't belong to the ghost.” He flew up and did that while he sat like he was sitting on a chair._  
  
_“Is that why you choose me? Cause I can use it right?” I asked, looking up._  
  
_“Well, it was really a big coincidence, y’ know. I only wanted to make people scared. I really like this dimension. But when I saw how your friends would be killed like that, I couldn’t ignore that, y’ know. We ghosts can see the future of every human being. But you’re a bit different than the other humans, so I thought of helping you.”_  
  
_“How different?”_

 __“Uhm… You have more courage, I think.”__  
  
_I frowned. His answers weren’t always clear. “You know why my other friends weren’t sent to this dimension of yours?”_  
  
_The little ghost groaned. “You ask me many questions, I could send you back. But to that question, I have no answer. I don’t even know why you were sent here.’_  
  
_“What? We shouldn’t be here?” I was surprised. “I thought everyone who came here in the mansion would be teleported.”_  
  
_“No, only ghost can make a portal that will able you to come here. But only with the help of a human.” He was flying in circles, not realizing that I was more shocked than before._  
  
_“What are you saying? Someone put us here on purpose?”_  
  
_“Oh,” he stopped flying, looking behind him. “Your friends are waking you up, I should go.”_  
  
_“No, wait-“ But the child vanished. The room grew darker and soon I saw nothing but darkness. I tried not to fall asleep as I moved with my arms. But my eyes went heavy. I gave up and fell._  
  
_to be continued_


	4. Chapter 4

“Maa? Maa-chan? Wake up!”  
  
“Why won’t she wake up? Maybe she is…”  
  
Maasa slowly opened her eyes, but opened it with shock when someone grabbed her shoulders and shook her back and forth.  
  
“Hey, wait! I’m awake!”  
  
The shaking stopped. With a headache Maasa was looking in the eyes of Saki Shimizu. Maasa opened her mouth to say something, but Saki hugged her. Over her shoulder Maasa saw Miyabi wiping the tears of her cheek, and she smiled to her. Saki let Maasa go.  
  
“I heard what you did for me,” Saki said.  
  
“Oh, really?” Maasa said surprised. She was scratching her head, not knowing what to say. “I…I didn’t know what to do, everything happened so fast, maybe I messed it all up and I ended doing something I have no idea about and-“  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
Maasa stopped her rambling and blushed. Saki chuckled and said with a big smile, “Well, whatever you did, I’m back here, and the ghost is gone. Now all we should do, is to find a way out of this dimension.”  
  
“Saki-chan…” With full admiration she looked to the Captain of Berryz Kobo. Even Miyabi, who was younger than her, grabbed her hand and nodded, showing that she agreed with Saki. Maasa rubbed her eyes, and looked determined “Okay, let’s go!”  
  
*  
  
Risako paced and couldn’t stop. She crossed her arms and tried to calm down. Yurina worriedly looked to her, but her mind was full with thoughts of what could have happened to Saki, Maasa and Miyabi. Chinami sat with her back against the others on the ground, not wanting to show her face. Momoko has stopped crying but was still sobbing a bit. Mindlessly she looked to the ground.  
  
“ _Does this thing still work_?”  
  
Everyone gasped, looking at the walkie-talkie Risako had in her hand. Everyone came quickly to her as Risako hold the walkie-talkie to her mouth. “Hello? Saki-chan?”  
  
There was a short pause. “ _Risako! Can you hear me_?”  
  
“Yeah, a bit. There are a lot cracking noises coming from this thing.”  
  
“ _That is my fault,_ ” Saki chuckled. “ _I threw it too hard on the ground_.”  
  
“Is everyone alright? We were all really worried!” Yurina said. “We couldn’t hear you all of the sudden. All we heard was you screaming.”  
  
“ _We are sorry we let you worry, but everything is alright now. Nothing happened, we are just tired_.”  
  
“ _What do you-“_  
  
Miyabi stopped her sentence. Then the girls heard her and Saki whispering, but they couldn’t understand a thing. Yurina looked confused to the rest. Risako shrugged, but Chinami and Momoko where still making no eye contact. Yurina was about to ask what was wrong with them, when they heard loud cracking noise and a voice. “ _Hello everyone_!”  
  
“Maasa!” Yurina and Risako said in unison.  
  
“Are you alright? What happened? Were there ghost?” Risako asked.  
  
“ _Everything is… fine, yeah_.”  
  
“Liar,” Chinami murmured. She was talking too soft, so only Risako could hear her.  
  
“ _But I have to tell you something, all of you_.” Her last words were probably meant for Miyabi and Saki, because they stopped whispering.  
  
And then, Maasa told of the young ghost boy who visited her in her dreams lately. The Otakebi Mansion the girls where in, was first an art museum. The little boy and his parents were visiting this museum about 100 years ago. The boy didn’t liked paintings, so he left his parents and was looking for something to play with. But after a while, he was lost and looked in tears for his parents when he heard gun shots. He rushed to the sound where he found his parent getting shot for his eyes. The boy ran away as fast as he could, but the murderers got him too and killed him.  
  
“ _They were thieves, trying to steal some paintings. But they also killed everyone in the museum_.” There was a long pause. Maasa coughed and continued. “ _We are seeing the ghosts of those people. Their spirits can’t leave, but they can leave their dimension and come to ours, if they know how._ __  
_So, this boy came to warn me about this dimension. Ghost can see the future, and saw… something terrible happening to us.”_  
  
“And did he say why only you were teleported?” Yurina asked. “Because me and Chi could escape safely.”  
  
“ _No, he didn’t. But he did say that this portal wasn’t always here. Some ghost did this, with the help of a human_.”  
  
“ _What? Someone did this to us on purpose?!”_ Miyabi shrieked.  
  
“ _I – I don’t know. We just have to find an exit for now_ ,” Maasa tried to change the topic. “ _I really have no idea if this was a set up or an accident_.”  
  
“ _An accident_!” Miyabi said in disbelief. “ _You can’t call this an –_ “  
  
Before she wanted to say more, Saki said, “ _O~kay, are there further questions_?”  
  
“… Do you know how to escape this dimension?” Yurina asked.  
  
“ _No, not yet_ ,” Maasa answered.” _We will just walk to somewhere and hoping we won’t see any ghost again-“_  
  
“ _Not that we have seen anything yet, right”_ Saki said hasty, stopping Maasa to finish her sentence.

  
“ _Uhm, yeah_ ,” Maasa said, not too confident.  
  
“Saki-chan, is everything alright?” Risako asked. “You’re acting a bit weird.”  
  
“ _Rii-chan, everything is fine_ ,” Saki confirmed. At that moment a really loud cracking voice made Saki unintelligible. The girls heard her stutter, the noise became louder, and then it was quiet.  
  
“Did the connection broke off again?” Risako asked Yurina.  
  
Yurina nodded. “I think we have to wait until it reconnects again.”  
  
“In that case, I’m going.”  
  
Yurina and Risako looked surprised at Chinami. She crossed her arms and looked irritated at the walkie-talkie.

 

“What are you saying?” Risako asked. “Are you saying we should leave?”  
  
“Yes, exactly.” Chinami stood up and turned her back towards the others, and began to walk.  
  
“You can’t leave!” Risako raised her voice. She bolded her fists. She couldn’t believe that one of her friends would leave her friends behind in danger.  
  
“How long are we supposed to wait here?” Chinami turned around and looked fiercely in Risako’s eyes. “It is getting late. When do you think those ghost are looking for US? You heard Maasa telling about one ghost leaving that place. What if they all leave and haunt us?”  
  
“I don’t think that will happen for now,” Yurina said slowly, not trying to make Chinami more angry.  
  
“And what about someone made this portal on purpose?” Chinami continued. “They are suspecting one of us!”  
  
“No, they don’t” Risako made one step towards her. “How do we know that you're not the one who caused all of these?”  
  
“Risako!” Warned Yurina, putting her hands for her mouth.  
  
“What?” Risako snarled. “That should be the reason you two didn’t got teleported to that ghost dimension!”  
  
“That doesn’t mean you have to blame it on her!” Yurina said.  
  
“Yeah Sugaya,” Chinami said, she also made one step forward. “And what if it was you, who sent Saki, Maa and Miya to the ghosts? You didn’t even wanted to enter this mansion.”  
  
“Chi!” Yurina stood by as she saw her two friends getting ready to fight. By now, Risako and Chinami were really close to each other. Chinami is taller than her, but that didn’t mind Risako.  
Her fists were shaking and Chinami looked like she could do something to her any moment.  
  
“Stop it!”  
  
The two girls blinked. They and Yurina looked to the source of the screaming. Momoko stood up, tears where rolling on her cheek. She runs to Risako and Chinami, followed by Yurina.  
  
“Momo,” Risako said slowly.  
  
“You should all stop fighting!” she began. “I’m… I’m the one who made this portal!”  
  
_to be continued_

 


	5. Chapter 5

“No, not now!”  
  
Saki hit the walkie-talkie a few times, but there was still no sound coming off. She sighed and sat next to Maasa and Miyabi.  
  
“Why didn’t you let me tell them about the ghost who came here?” Maasa asked. When she wanted to tell Risako and the others about the incident that just happened, Saki cut her off and changes to topic.  
  
“Didn’t you hear how worried Risako and Yurina sounded? Of course they are scared too, for us not coming back after we entered the mansion and you telling this story that it is haunted, and it’s actually true too. I didn’t want to make them more scared.”  
  
“Ah…” Maasa felt stupid after she said that. Yurina and Risako are the youngest of their group, and Risako can get scared very easily. Not even talking about Momoko. She can't imagine her doing all this. “Sorry.”  
  
“Me too,” Miyabi said. “I didn’t think of that.” She grabbed the walkie-talkie and stood up. “Are we going then, for their sake?”  
  
Saki and Maasa both nodded and started to stand up. While standing, Saki gave a painful face and Maasa staggered a bit.  
  
“What's wrong with you guys?” Miyabi asked.  
  
“My stomach,” Saki rubbed on her belly.  
  
“Headache,” Maasa said while not trying to fall.  
  
Miyabi grinned. “How can you protect me in your states!” she put her hands on her hips and gave a determinate face. “Move it so I can lead you to the exit of this War Cry mansion.”  
  
“War Cry?” Maasa looked confused, but Saki was smiling, happy for her for not being scared anymore. When she woke up after the ghost was gone, Miyabi was crying and hugging her, screaming about that Maasa wouldn’t wake up either, thinking of being left alone here. It took her some time to calm Miyabi down, and kept telling her that everything will be alright.  
  
Confident Miyabi walked passed the two and grabbed the doorknob. But then she froze.  
  
“What wrong, brave one?” Maasa asked.  
  
Miyabi turned her head and put a forceful smile on her face. “I – er – maybe you should go first. You know how to keep the ghosts away so…”  
  
“Oh, okay,” Maasa said surprised. Confident Miya didn’t last long after all. She walked to the door, trying to remember how it looked like when they came dashing to this room. Saki gave her the flashlight.  
  
“Don’t worry, I’m right behind you.”  
  
“Ehm, isn’t it better if I stayed behind Maa-chan? You never know what – “ Miya said  
  
“I’ll be right behind you _after_ you Miya,” Saki corrected herself.  
  
Maasa nodded. She let go of the stone in her jacket pocket, what she was holding this whole time. With her right hand she slowly opened the door, while she heard Miyabi quivering behind her.  
  
She took one step in the corridor. It was still a bit dark. The TL-lights on the ceiling where flickering and a cold wind made her shiver. A weird smell of iron came in her noise, and she heard Saki coughing. When they were all out of the room, Saki closed the door behind here, and the sound of it kept echoing for a long time. Maasa pointed the flash light to the right and to the left. There was a passage on both ways.  
  
“Which way first?” Miyabi asked with a high pitched voice. She rubbed both of her arms with her hands. Even with jacket on, it was still freezing.  
  
“I don’t know… To the left.” Maasa decided.  
  
“Why to the left?”  
  
“I don’t know. I just chose it randomly.”  
  
“That’s the second time you say that you don’t know.”  
  
“Hello, you asked me which way we should go!”  
  
“You guys, be quiet!”  
  
The two girls looked at Saki, who was looking paler then before. Maasa felt guilty, she shouted her last words. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout.”  
  
“I started this all, so I’m sorry,” Miyabi said, looking to the ground. “I’m just really…scared.”  
  
Saki grabbed both Miyabi and Maasa’s arm. “We all are. If we just stick together and help each other, we will find a way out of here. From now on, Maasa will lead us the way. Any complains?”  
  
Miyabi and Maasa shook their heads. Maasa now pointed the flashlight to the left, and so they walked into a new direction. Maasa first, Miyabi second, and Saki third.  
  
_While we walked to… somewhere, lots of thoughts where flashing through my mind. I felt having a big responsibility, walking in a line, not having someone beside me. And I was the only one having something to protect the three of us._ __  
_I have no idea how I did it in the first place. The only thing I kept in my mind was saving Saki-chan. What if the same would happen to me? How can Miya and Saki-chan escape here safely? My heart was racing, my head was turning, and I thought that at every step I made, a ghost or something worse would come through a wall. The flashlight in my hand was shaking. I wanted to get out of this place. I wanted to know who did this to us, and why. I wanted my head to stop hurting. I just… want everyone to be safe._  
  
“Look, there is a way to the right,” Saki said. At the end of where the light could reach, they indeed saw a way to the right.  
  
“Okay, I’ll see if there’s a way through it,” Maasa said. Saki nodded, and Miyabi pinched her in her arm. Maasa took a deep sight, and then looked.  
  
At first, she saw it was a dead end. But the smell of iron was stronger than before. She wanted to ignore this and keep walking straight when she saw some dark parts on the ground. Maasa put the flashlight on it, and she could see that the red colored puddles. Slowly she moved the light to the source of it, where the red parts became bigger, to the wall. Maasa gasped, tried not to scream and felt like her heart stopped beating for like a minute. A man was lying down on the ground. His eyes were two black holes, but there was also one on his forehead, where all the red blood was coming from. Maasa turned her head towards Miyabi and Saki, with the flashlight facing her feet so that they couldn’t see her facial expression.  
  
“So? Is there a way?” Miyabi asked when Maasa hadn’t said anything.  
  
“We’re going back. From where we came from we’re go to the right.” Maasa said in a low voice.  
  
“Eh?” Miyabi said. “But you said- “  
  
“Just go!”  
  
At the moment Maasa yelled that, a bright light appeared from her pocket. It stopped as quickly as it came. Maasa grabbed the stone and held it in front of her.  
  
“It is warm,” Maasa said, looking at the little white stone.  
  
“Why did it light up?” Miyabi asked.  
  
“I think…It was responding you, Maasa,” Saki said.  
  
_to be continued_


	6. Chapter 6

“I’m… I’m the one who made this portal!” shouted Momoko.  
  
The words couldn’t echo more in Yurina’s head. She looked at Momoko, who was still glaring at Risako and Chinami with clenched fists. Her tears were dropping on the ground. Risako and Chinami let go of each other, but were looking at her in shock. No one dared say a word for a long time, then Yurina broke the silence.  
  
“You’re lying, right?” she said with hope in her voice. “You were just trying to stop them, so they wouldn’t fight anymore. Because you couldn’t have done this… You would never – “  
  
“I was never capable of this, is that what you mean?” Momoko raised her voice, and Yurina heard anger when she just spoke. Momoko wiped away her tears and her body relaxed a bit. “I couldn’t do any of this because I’m not able to do it, eh!”  
  
“What are you talking about?” Risako asked, frowning.

Yurina gaped with open mouth at her back. Momoko looked with an angry face to Risako. It almost frightened her. Risako grabbed without really noticing Chinami’s hand and averted her face somewhere else. Chinami stayed strong and kept looking in Momoko’s eyes.  
  
At that moment, Momoko blinked and her gaze changed. She closed her eyes and looked like she was going to fall, when Yurina quickly came to her and helped. Momoko thanked her and she stood up, with Yurina still by her side.  
  
“I’m sorry,” Momoko brought out. Chinami saw her scowling, like she was thinking. “I’m a bit…confused, that’s all.”  
  
“Momo, will you tell us what has been happening?” Chinami said, still looking with sharp eyes to her. She felt Risako squeezing her hand. Her eyes were red. Chinami squeezed back.  
  
It became cloudy and dark outside. The rain dropped slowly from the sky and there was a soft sound of a storm. Normally Momoko will scream with a high-pitch voice, but now she looked serious. She nodded to Chinami as an answer.  
  
“Shall we go inside a restaurant or something?” Yurina asked who felt goose bumps under her jacket. “All the other staff have been going there, because they are too scared to go here or are tired. We should tell them what’s going on.”  
  
“But what about Saki and the others!” Risako said. “We have to stay here.”  
  
“We’ll go under the small roof by the Mansion then,” Chinami said. That was the last thing Yurina wanted. She founded the Otakebi Mansion too scary, even from the outside. She couldn’t think of herself being teleported to a ghost dimension after being in there  
  
The girls eventually crouched under the small roof close to each other, except for Momo being a few inches away from them. She sighed, grabbed her knees, and began her story while staring at the rain  
  
“In the time I did it, I was feeling really depressed about everything. She had made me so convinced about all the things she has been saying, I wasn’t thinking about anything. My whole mind was empty, with no one to hug me.

  
“It happened around the time we had dance lessons for Otakebi Boy. I was tired and went outside for a while. I don’t know why, but I had the feeling you were all talking about me. That I was asking too much attention when we were dancing. And on that same night, I – like Maasa – also had a ghost who came to me. Her name was Motoko. But she wasn’t just appearing in my dreams, but also in my daily life.  
“Every time we had to do something for Berryz, she told me how you were thinking of me. She said you found me annoying, not fitting in the group and troublesome. I wasn’t aware that she could lying, but I thought that every single thing she said was true.”  
  
Momoko sniffed a few times and coughed, trying to fight her tears back, but the other three stayed focused in her story. Risako didn’t know that she was feeling like this. She was noticing Momoko was getting more remote, but not like this.  
  
“Her stories were getting worse and worse, it was really tearing me apart. I lost my confidence; I didn’t want to continue anymore. I was even scared of asking you guys about it.  
“And then one time, Motoko told me about what happened in the Otakebi Mansion, that there were still many ghosts in there. She told me of this portal to that dimension, when entering it, you couldn’t get out by yourself. So on the night before we went here shooting, I and Motoko went to the amusement park and made the portal together.  
"I wanted to tell her that this was a bad idea after all. But she wasn’t at this dimension anymore. It is her plan to never return to me.”  
  
Risako sneezed, and the story ended. Momoko couldn’t hold it anymore and put her head between her knees. Yurina and Chinami gave a glance at each other. They nodded. Chinami grabbed Risako’s hand. They stood up, sat next to Momoko and gave her all a hug. Momoko’s shoulders were shaking, and she burst into tears. Everything she felt the last months were coming out.  
  
“I’m so sorry guys, I shouldn’t have ever done this! I… I have k… killed – “  
  
“You haven’t killed anyone!” Risako screamed through her tears. “It is our fault for not noticing how bad you felt.”  
  
“Yeah, you always look after us and know when we’re having trouble,” Yurina said in the arms of Momoko.  
  
“We will save Saki and rest together! Because you have friends who will never let you down, don’t forget that!” Chinami rubbed her eyes and looked to her with a smile.  
  
Momoko looked at her friends. She didn’t felt anger nor emptiness anymore. She looked at Chinami, the member she couldn’t interact the best, and was also smiling. “Thank you.”  
  
She rubbed her tears of her cheek, and so did Risako.  
  
“I just have a question you maybe know,” Chinami said. “Why do the ghosts want humans to come to their dimension?”  
  
“Motoko said that…” Momoko tensed as she remembered. “She said that, they are looking for souls."  
  
_to be continued_


	7. Chapter 7

In the dark corridors, the three girls were still trying to find a way out. Maasa was walking in front with a flashlight, holding Miyabi’s hand and Miyabi holding Saki’s hand. They already passed the spot where they were hiding before, and the girls walked in a new direction.

  
“So, ehm, Maasa,” Miyabi began. “That stone of yours, that little ghost gave it to you right?”  
  
“You mean Benjamin?” Maasa asked.  
  
“He has a name?” Saki asked.  
  
“Of course, he was also a human before,” Maasa said.  
  
“But the other ghosts don’t act like… human,” Saki said.  
  
“That’s because they lost their humanity. They’ve been here for such a long time and they never left this place. Their only purpose here seems to be attacking us now.”  
  
“But why?” Miyabi asked.  
  
Maasa shrugged. “Don’t know. But Benjamin told me that only a few ghosts are still normal, like him. There is another ghost who is leaving this place, a friend of his. I think they are the only two.”  
  
“Does the other ghost also have a stone like yours?” Saki asked.  
  
“He got that stone from another ghost, but he didn’t tell me where he got it.”  
  
“But that stone, I saw it lying under the door,” Saki said. “It was the cause that I fell. Was it some kind of protection?”  
  
“U huh,” Maasa said. “The stone creates some kind of protection barrier, where the ghosts can’t pass. That’s why I put it under the door.”  
  
“You knew this was all happening?” Saki said with disbelief.  
  
“Well, yeah. Benjamin told me this was going to happen, he made a pact so – “  
  
“Don’t you feel a bit weird, you guys?” Miyabi said with a soft voice.  
  
Maasa and Saki stopped talking. They all had an uneasy feeling all of the sudden. It felt very cold. They turned around, and saw a ghost coming through the wall.

The girls gasped. They pinched in each other’s hand and slowly walked back. Behind them was an open space, and after that, a corridor.  
  
Suddenly Miyabi let go of Maasa and Saki’s hand and she stumbled on the ground. Maasa got towed backwards and let the flashlight fall. The light rolled on the ground and stopped, pointed at Miyabi. She lay on the ground with her face in the direction of the source of why she fell. It was a dead body.  
Miyabi screamed, stood up and ran to the dark corridor.  
  
“Miyabi!” Maasa yelled. “Come back!” She quickly grabbed the flashlight and wanted to follow her, when a second ghost was in her way.  
  
“Maa…” Saki said slowly.

Maasa turned around, and saw that the other ghost was shaking roughly. Because of the loud noises they made, it became angry and screamed with a high voice. Maasa closed one ear with her left hand and she ran to Saki with her flashlight in the other. They were backing against a wall, while the two ghosts were nearing them.  
  
The screams became louder. Saki tried not to close her eyes, and kept her fingers in her ears. She wanted to scream, her head felt like it could explode. She couldn’t find a way to escape as they were driven into a corner.  
  
Then the second ghost reached its hand to them. Maasa didn’t dare to move. Her heart was racing. How could she protect them? Are there no other ways than facing them and letting the ghosts do what they want?  
Then, the ghost’s arm touched Maasa’s arm. It felt painfully cold, and Maasa couldn’t bare it anymore. She screamed, and then suddenly a bright light appeared, what bounced the ghosts back, and they faded away, just like the female ghost. The light disappeared back into Maasa’s pocket.  
  
Maasa blinked her eyes and her head fell on Saki’ss shoulder. Saki caught her and she sat on the ground. She looked in front of her, where the two ghosts just stood and thought it was over. She then looked at Maasa, who was panting and looked tired.  
  
“That is one heck of a stone,” she said to her hoarsely.  
  
“Yeah,” Maasa whispered, and then lost her consciousness.  
  
*

  
_“…Are you there?”_ __  
  
_“Of course, where else? I have to wait here until it’s a bit safe in the mansion. Why haven’t you made contact with me? What do you want?”_  
  
_“I want you to make another portal.”_  
  
_“What? Why? You’re not thinking of rescuing your friends, right?”_  
  
_“No, no, it’s not that. I want to… see how they are doing now. Like, if they’re already turned into – “_  
  
_“Ghosts? Soulless? Well, I like your idea. I would like to see it instead of staying here. I bet you would also like to see what will happen to the friends who didn’t treat you well.”_  
  
_“Y - yeah.”_  
  
_“Say, what were you talking about with the others?”_  
  
_“Them? Oh, nothing. Nothing…”_  
  
*  
  
Miyabi leaned against a wall and wheezed. She found a room full with faded paintings. She stood close to a window, so she could see a bit. She looked through the window and a full moon shined on the dark sky. Was it so late already? Or is it always supposed to be night here? She sighed.  
  
“Where…did I come from?”

  
She opened the door saw two pathways, but she had no idea which one she came through. Suddenly she saw a flashback of the face of the dead men, and the terrified faces of Saki and Maasa. A tear rolled down her cheek. What could’ve happened to them? Why did she leave them?  
  
“Why did you leave them?”  
  
Miyabi squeaked. A ghost stood next to her. It was a small boy, but he floated so that he was the same height as her.  
  
“Woa woa, don’t yell at me! I’m the good guy here!” He looked annoyed. “Geez, don’t you want me to help you?”  
  
“Who are you?!” Miyabi said with a loud voice. Then she took a good look at the young ghost. He wore shorts and a cap. Then she understood. “Are you… Benjamin?”  
  
“Correct,” he said and smirked. “And you are a friend of Maasa right?”  
  
Miyabi nodded. “I’m Natsuyaki Miyabi.”  
  
“Hi Miyabi-chan,” Benjamin said, still smirking.  
  
“Eh?” Miyabi said startled.  
  
Benjamin laughed. “Here,” and he threw Miyabi a flashlight. “Maasa said it could be handy for you.”  
  
“So that means they are alright?” Miyabi said hopeful. “I’m relieved.”  
  
“Of course they are alright! I gave her the most powerful weapon against ghosts ever!” He crossed his arms.  
  
“You said you know the way out of here?”  
  
“You mean to your friends? Yes I know,” and Benjamin flew ahead, with Miyabi following behind him. She turned on the flashlight, so she could see him.  
  
“By the… way,” Miyabi said panting. Benjamin slowed down, so Miyabi could walk beside him. “Do you know who made the portal?”  
  
“That is not for me to tell,” Benjamin said. “But I can tell you one thing, it is someone you know very well.”  
  
“What?!” Miyabi stood still.  
  
“C’mon, what are you doing,” Benjamin said. “What is the big deal; she could have a good reason, y’know.”  
  
“She? And what good reason?” Miyabi asked, but she walked further. “Why won’t you tell me?”  
  
“Sorry, but you know what? Instead, I could answer all your other questions, okay?” Benjamin said. He looked at Miyabi. When she looked back, he tensed and averted his eyes, but flew with his back to the destination facing her.  
  
“Okay, um…” Miyabi thought. “Who is that other ghost who hasn’t lost his, ehm, humanity?”  
  
“You mean Motoko?” Benjamin said, still not looking at Miyabi. “Yes, she still knows why we ghosts are here and that we can’t leave this world in peace. Everyone else already forgot. We two often leave this place, mostly because the others are turning mad or something. One time, Motoko talked about having a pact with a human, so that we could see the future and steal their souls. But it failed mostly, because the souls aren’t strong enough and – “  
  
“Wait, what is a pact?” Miyabi cut Benjamin’s story.  
  
“It’s like, um, having a connection between a human and a ghost. For me, it’s Maasa. But my purpose isn’t taking their souls anymore. We became friends, and I wanted to find someone who will let this curse end, so everyone can die peacefully.”  
  
“And is that other ghost, Motoko, still trying to get the pact’s soul?”  
  
“No, on the contrary, she only picked someone who is weak and will do everything she says, just to make a portal and letting someone in with a strong heart.”  
  
“That’s why we are here…” Miyabi thought out loud. “But it means that the one who made the portal didn’t do it on purpose then!”  
  
Benjamin nodded. He whistled.  
  
“Can you look into to future?” Miyabi asked. “That’s how you know this was all going to happen to us, right?”  
  
“Yeah,” he said. He closed his eyes for a second, and then opened them. ”You want the truth? Not so good.”  
  
He then stopped flying, hovering in the air.  
  
“What is it?” Miyabi asked.  
  
“Nothing… We just passed my parent’s bodies.”  
  
Miyabi looked in horror, not knowing what to say, but Benjamin laughed.  
  
“It’s okay. I’ve seen them many times, and they aren’t here anymore. They’ve also turned into soul-seeking ghosts. I accepted it.”  
  
“I’m sorry,” Miyabi mumbled.  
  
“Why are you apologizing?” Benjamin said. He scratched his head, and flew ahead. “Man, I hate girls.” He muttered the last words, but Miyabi was laughing now. She almost forgot he was still just a little kid, but he acted mature. She shined the flashlight on the walls, not wanting to see any more bodies. She didn’t notice that she almost walked through Benjamin, and stopped just on time.  
  
“Why are you stopping?” Miyabi said annoyed. “Are you seeing another dead – “  
  
“Shh! I sense that someone is coming!” he said with a sharp tone.  
  
Miyabi gasped, and tried to hide behind Benjamin.  
  
“Go in there!” he pointed to a room. Miyabi hurried to that room and crouched next to the door-less wall, trying to slow down her breathing. She heard someone opening a door, and listened very carefully.  
  
“Oh, it is you,” Benjamin said. It didn’t sound relieved, but also not surprised. “So this is the one you’ve chosen.”  
  
“Yeah, we wanted to see how everything is going. If someone is left, I want her soul. I’ve waited too long for this.” She laughed with a shrill voice.  
  
“No you can’t!”  
  
“Momo,” Miyabi whispered. She stood up and joined the rest.  
  
“Oh, who do we have here?” The female ghost asked. It was an adult, a lot taller than Miyabi. Her hair was in a knot, and she wore sporty clothes. She looked in Miyabi’s eyes, and Miyabi didn’t dare to look the other way. “Is she your new human?”  
  
“No she isn’t,” Benjamin said calmly.  
  
“Miya! I’m so sorry I did this!” Momoko said. “I didn’t know what I was thinking back then!”  
  
“It’s alright Momo,” Miyabi said. “I know you didn’t do this on purpose.”  
  
“Shut the hell up! Both of you!” Motoko screamed. “You know her Momoko? Too bad, because this will be the last time you’ll see her.”  
  
She floated to Miyabi. Miyabi was still looking in her eyes that made her in trance. She couldn’t move anymore or scream for help.  
  
“No!” Momoko jumped in front of Miyabi, and Motoko stopped. Miyabi lost the trance with the ghost and she looked dizzy at Momoko’s back, who protected her with her arms wide.  
  
“Go out of my way, you dumb girl,” Motoko said. “It isn’t you who I want. And remember what all your friends did to you! You want to protect them now?”  
  
“I know I’m too late, but I still love my friends! And will still protect and help them, no matter what!”  
  
“You betrayer!” Motoko screamed. “Fine! If this is what you want, I shall happily grant it to you!” She flew towards Momoko, and disappeared in her.  
  
Momoko yelled and clung onto herself. She fell onto the ground in pain and flexed her muscles. Her screaming became louder. Miyabi cried seeing her friend in pain. She wanted to help her and almost reached her.  
  
“Don’t touch her!” Benjamin warned.  
  
“What should we do then?!”  
  
Benjamin put his hand before her, telling her to be quiet. “Motoko, you haven’t been looking in the future for a long time, eh?” He remained calm. Miyabi had no idea what he was planning.  
  
“Shut…up,” Momoko said. She gave one angry look, and it changed into a painful face.  
  
“If you look now, you can sense a much stronger soul near here. Just leave this human alone.”  
  
It was quiet. Momoko stopped with screaming. And then the ghost came out of her and flew away from them very fast. Miyabi hurried to Momoko, who was lying on the ground with her eyes closed. Miyabi held her in her arms.  
  
“Is she…”  
  
“No she isn’t dead, she’s just fine,” Benjamin said.  
  
“What is Motoko doing now?” Miyabi asked.  
  
“Motoko was trying to get your friend’s soul with force. I just told her that there are other humans here, so that Momoko could be safe. But now… We have to hurry up and go to your other friends.”  
  
_to be continued_


	8. Chapter 8

Saki was looking in front of her. They have been in this mansion for so long that she could see the doors and even a few paintings through the darkness. She didn’t give any attention to the man in front of her, who was still lying on the ground. Luckily, his head wasn’t pointing in her direction.  
  
Sometimes she could swear she heard voices coming from the left door, where Miyabi disappeared. She hoped everything is alright with her. She found it weird that Miyabi hadn’t returned yet. Was she lost?  
  
“Maa, you’re getting heavy,” Saki murmured. She looked at her side. Ever since Maasa beat the ghost, she was lying on Saki’s shoulder, unconscious. Maasa groaned, opened her eyes and yawned. She sat up and looked around.  
  
“Where are we?” she asked slowly.  
  
“Uhm, still at the same place,” Saki said. When she didn’t get a response, she added “Y’ know, at the mansion.”  
  
“Benjamin always says that too.”  
  
“What, mansion?”  
  
“No, y’ know.”  
  
“What?” Saki looked confused to Maasa. “Come on, we have to find Miya. I’ve been hearing noises from the way she ran to. Maybe something happened to her.” She stood up, grabbed Maasa’s hand and pulled her up. When she stood up, Saki had to hold her up with two arms, because Maasa couldn’t stay balanced.  
“Are you alright?” Saki asked, worried.  
  
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she lightly pushed Saki of her and tried to keep standing. She leaned against the wall with one arm and walked a few steps. Then Maasa tried to walk without leaning, and slowly she walked to the left door.  
  
In three steps Saki stood next to her. “Are you sure? You aren’t walking that… smoothly. You need help”  
  
“I said I’m fine,” Maasa growled. “And I don’t need any help.” She almost fell, and Saki helped her again.  
  
“Why are you acting like that?” Saki didn’t understand her. You could clearly see that there was something wrong with Maasa. Then she thought of why Maasa lost her conscious. It happened every time when she used the stone. “Is this because of that stone?”  
  
“I don’t know.”  
  
“What?” Saki froze. Just when she was about to say something, the walkie-talkie began to make noises. Saki turned around and grabbed it from the floor.  
  
_“…ello_?”  
  
“Hello? Chii?” Saki said. “We can’t hear you well.” Saki shook the walkie-talkie, in the hope the connection would be better. “How are you guys?”  
  
“ _Is …mo…o with …ou_?”  
  
“What?” Saki said. “I can’t understand you!”  
  
“She asks if Momo is with us,” Maasa said, dazing in front of her.  
  
“Eh? Why?” Saki asked Chi, with confused looks to Maasa. “Isn’t she with you?”  
  
“ _No_.”  
  
Now even Maasa’s expression changed, and looked frowning to the walkie-talkie. “She’s also missing?” she said hoarsely.  
  
_“…at do you mea… also_?” They could hear the voice of Risako, almost screaming.  
  
“Nothing,” Saki said quickly. “But why – “ The loud cracking noises coming from the walkie-talkie stopped Saki from talking. Again Saki shook it, with no success. “Why do you think Momo is here?!” she yelled, making Maasa flinch.  
  
And then the two girls heard the soft voice of Chinami. It sounded from far away, and what they could hear from her was; _“… not trust … st… … her … moko is prob … ing … all_!”  
After that, it remained silence. In the meantime, Maasa’s legs buckled and she fell on the ground while Saki was looking in terror to the walkie-talkie in her hand.  
  
“What did she say? I don’t get it! Why has Momoko disappeared? Did they try to warn us? Why is this stupid thing not working?!”  
  
“Saki!” Maasa cried. Saki abruptly stopped, and looked down to where Maasa was sitting.  
  
“Why are you down there?” Saki asked. She hadn’t noticed that Maasa couldn’t handle all the loud noises and had fallen on the ground.  
  
“B – because… Come join me if you want.”  
  
Saki sighed, and crouched next to Maasa. There was a short pause. “And… what do you think Chinami tried to say?”  
  
“Well, I think she said Momo’s name and not trusting someone…”  
  
“You think they tried to warn us of Momoko?” Saki asked.  
  
“No!” Maasa said quickly. “She said more, but I couldn’t make any sense out of it.”  
  
“Me neither.” Saki took a deep breath. “Can you stand?”  
  
Maasa looked up. “Why?”  
  
“Like I first said, we have to find Miya-chan.”  
  
“Why? Where is she?”  
  
“What?” In one move, Saki stood up and looked in disbelief at Maasa. “What do you mean? Where else do you think she is?”  
  
“Please, don’t yell. My head – “  
  
“And what happened to you, seriously! You’ve been acting all strange since you just woke up. You can’t walk and have amnesia or something. Is it the stone? Just say it! I’m worried sick here because two of our friends are lost, and I can’t worry about you too, not if you just tell me what’s wrong!”  
  
“I said that I don’t know!”  
  
Saki was breathless. Maasa looked like she could pass out again, so she quickly sat next to her and hold her. Maasa bit her lip, fighting back her tears.  
  
“I j – just don’t want y - you to worry about m – me,” she said slowly, one tear rolled on her cheek. “I can’t remember if Benjamin once t – told me of the effects using the stone. But everything will be alright, so… so…”  
  
Maasa hid her face behind her arms. Saki tried to smile, and rubbed her back.  
  
“You don’t have to tell me that everything will be alright,” she chuckled. “I’m the Captain, you stole my text.”  
  
Saki felt someone poking her hip, and saw an arm coming from under Maasa’s knee. She grabbed her hand, and felt her pinching Saki’s hand. “I just remembered, I told Benjamin to give the flashlight to Miya, if you were thinking where it was.”  
  
*  
  
“Is it working? Is it working?”  
  
“Sssh, quiet! I’m trying now! ‘Hello?’.”  
  
Carefully, Risako and Yurina listened to the walkie-talkie, where Chinami just said something, hoping for an answer.  
  
“ _Hello? Chii? How are you guys_?”  
  
“Saki! Yes, it worked!” Risako whispered happily.  
  
“Is Momo there with you?” Yurina now asked.  
  
Excitedly, the three girls were waiting for an answer. When the rain stopped, the girls went to the restaurant, finding out that the staff had fled, scared that maybe the ghost will haunt them. When they went back, Momoko had disappeared. They all guessed she made a portal and went in the ghost dimension.  
  
“ _What? I can’t understand you_!”  
  
“Eh? Did I talk too soft?” Yurina asked.  
  
“She asked if Momo is with us,” they heard the low voice of Maasa.  
  
“ _Eh? Why? Isn’t she with you_?” Saki asked.  
  
“No,” Yurina replied. She looked to Risako and Chinami, who were looking worried. Where could she be then?  
  
“ _She’s also missing_?” Maasa asked.  
  
At that point Risako grabbed the walkie-talkie from Yurina. “What do you mean she’s also missing?” Risako said hysteric.  
  
“ _Nothing. But why_ – “  
  
“Stay calm Risako,” Yurina said, taking the walkie-talkie back, and Risako also tried to grabbing it back. They totally didn’t notice that Saki was trying to say something.  
  
“Stop!” Chinami said, waving with her arms between the two. She then snatched away the communication device from Risako and said quickly; “Do not trust the ghost who’s with her, Momoko is probably coming to you to rescue you all!”  
  
After that, there was no response. “I think it’s broken,” Yurina said.  
  
“Oh really,” Chinami huffed and gave it to Risako.  
  
“What should I do with it?” Risako said.  
  
“I don’t know, surprise me!” and with that Chinami walked to the door, the entrance of the museum, now called Otakebi Mansion.  
  
Yurina and Risako looked at each other, shrugged and came standing next to Chinami.

It was an old door, making screeching noises when there was wind. There was an official entrance, but that door couldn’t be opened, probably because of all the corpses lying there.  
  
“What is your plan, Chii?” Yurina asked.  
  
“What do you think we have been doing? Four of our friends are trapped in this other dimension and all we’ve been doing is waiting. Our only hope seemed to be a stupid, broken walkie-talkie. So what we should now, is opening this door and going in.”  
  
“You didn’t mean what you said, right?” Risako said with a pitched voice.  
  
“But what do you think we’ll find?” Yurina asked. “You just said it yourself, they aren’t in our dimension.”  
  
“Momoko is getting them back, right? If she needs help, we’re right here for her!”  
  
“But that still doesn’t answer my question,” Yurina said dry.  
  
Chinami turned her head and winked. “Trust me.”


	9. Chapter 9

"Hurry up!"  
  
"I can't! She's too…heavy."  
  
Miyabi was panting. She tried to keep running. It was hard enough to stay balanced while carrying someone on your back. Momoko still hadn't woke up, and Benjamin kept saying there wasn't enough time, so Miyabi found this a good plan. But right now she didn't care if she had to slap her friend, if that would wake her up.  
  
The ghost and the two girls where entering one room after another. Miyabi didn't notice she had run that far when trying to get away of that horrible image she saw. The mansion was really big, and it looked even bigger in the dark, because you couldn't recognize a single room.  
  
"How do you know where we must go?" Miyabi asked Benjamin. She hoped that when he was talking more than two words, they could slow down for a bit.  
  
"What do you mean? That I don't know this place after a 100 years?"  
  
"No, no. I meant…" Miyabi breathed out deeply, and inhaled. "Like, how every ghost here could find us."  
  
"Well, you can't ignore a human with a strong soul, and certainly not three human souls." Benjamin slowed down a bit, so Miyabi could catch up. She leaned forward to catch her breath, she stood up again and walked further.  
  
“You mean the ghosts were only reacting to one soul? But why did no one attack Momo?”  
  
“Why do you think Motoko is going to Maasa instead of her?”  
  
“What? Maasa? But I thought – “  
  
At that moment they heard someone groan. Momoko opened her eyes and looked up. When she saw one glance of Benjamin, she screamed and pushed Miyabi off of her. The girls both fell to the ground. Miyabi landed on her stomach and was coughing, while Momoko landed on her butt.  
  
“Ouch!” Miyabi said angrily, standing up and looking at Momoko, who somehow also stood up and was looking around at her.  
  
“How do you feel?” Benjamin asked.  
  
“I…don’t know,” Momoko answered. “Weird, but alright.”  
  
“You wanna feel worse?” Miyabi took a few steps towards Momoko with a fierce look. Her face was dirty and she looked tired. Miyabi felt all her emotions were coming out. Momoko slowly walked back with her hands near her.  
  
“Miyabi-chan…? I’m sorry! I wasn’t aware you were carrying me!” She almost squeaked the last words.  
  
Miyabi stopped. She blinked once and her expression became softer. “Forget it. I’m sorry too.”  
  
Momoko wanted to say something, but Benjamin cut her off. “We really don’t have time for this! Your friends are this close to becoming lifeless!”  
  
“What? Why?” Momoko said startled.  
  
“I’ll explain later,” Miyabi said, and she wanted to start running.  
  
“But I’m scared to see Saki and Suuchan!” Momoko said.  
  
“Eh, why?” Miyabi asked.  
  
“Because I made the portal, and maybe they won’t forgive me…”  
  
“You will find that out sooner or later, but not if we’re too late,” Benjamin was beginning to lose his temper. “Now go!”  
  
*  
  
_How long are we in this place already anyway? Saki is looking really tired, I think she can’t hold it out in here any longer. We are in constant fear, always looking behind us if some floating ghosts are chasing us. Since the time that I woke up another ghost attacked us. We still haven’t found Miyabi, and the walkie-talkie has given up on us. I’m pretty tired myself. I don’t think I can save both of us every time._ __  
_I was thinking of making a little portal on my own. And when I find Miyabi, we could get out together. I’m sorry Benjamin, but I have no idea how to solve this curse here, to save you._  
  
Saki let out a deep sigh. She and Maasa were sitting on the floor, after meeting another ghost. Maasa, who sat across Saki, was staring at the little white stone in her hand. She was making some pattern in the air with it. Saki had no idea what she was doing, but she didn’t interrupt her.  
  
There was a long pause. Saki had regained some energy after the short break, and stood up. She looked at Maasa, hoping that she would understand that they needed to continue, but she didn’t move.  
  
“Maa, come on now,” Saki said impatiently.  
  
“Saki, come here for a second.”  
  
“Eh?” Saki came to her. “What is it, you need help to stand up again?”  
  
Maasa looked up. Saki saw weird enough that she was looking sad. They were staring at each other for seconds, what felt like hours. Then Maasa squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m sorry,” she muttered.  
  
“What – “ Saki breathed out.  
  
Maasa stood up, made weird patterns again with the stone and opened her eyes. Behind Saki, a big wormhole appeared all of the sudden. But Saki had no time to look back what was happening. There was a bright light shining in her eyes from the stone. Saki covered up her eyes with her arms, and tried to walk away from the light. The light disappeared. Saki rubbed her soaring eyes, but then felt someone pushing her so hard, she fell backwards.  
  
And then Saki was gone. Maasa put the stone back in her pocket and watched where Saki had fallen, but no one was lying on the ground. The portal also vanished, and it remained silent. Maasa was panting, and she screamed as loud as she could. She fought back her tears, because she knew there was no time for this. She took one step to one of the doors she was facing, when a ghost flew through the wall so fast the wind messed up her long hair. Maasa looked where the ghost had gone, but she saw nothing.  
  
Maasa's heart was pounding. Again she felt fear, but the feeling was even worse now. She leaned to the wall with a painting hanging on it. It fell on the ground, and so did Maasa. After that the ghost flew through the ceiling and stopped in the middle of the room.  
  
“Where is the other?” the ghost asked. It had a deep voice, but you could still hear it was a woman.  
  
“What?” Maasa squeaked. She stood up, and didn’t dare to take her eyes of the ghost. ‘ _Why can she talk_?’ Maasa thought. ‘ _Maybe she won’t harm me_.’  
  
“There were two of you humans! I sensed two souls!”  
  
The ghost was screaming it now. Maasa shivered. She felt her knees trembling and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep standing. “S – she is gone,” Maasa whispered.  
  
The ghost had her eyes closed ever since she came here. She opened them, with weird enough, an emotionless expression. “Oh, is that so? That will only make it easy for me.”  
  
Before Maasa knew what she meant, the ghost flew with speed towards her.  
  
*  
  
“I want to get out of here now!”  
  
“Sst! Don’t disturb the dead people.”  
  
“Ha. Ha. You know very well these people are actors. And it’s too late for them to be here.”  
  
Chinami was laughing. They’ve been wandering in the old museum for quite a time. They’ve found a lighting switch, and remembered every room they’d gone into. Risako was clinging onto Yurina, and Chinami was walking in the front. They still hadn’t found anything, but that didn’t keep Chinami from leaving this place.  
  
“I’m tired. Can we please take a break?” Risako said whining.  
  
Chinami sighted and sat down quickly on the ground. “Fine by me,” and she crossed her arms.  
  
“You are tired yourself!” Yurina said in disbelief. She and Risako also sat down in the middle of the hallway.  
  
“I’m not!” Chinami snapped.  
  
Then the girls heard a loud thud and someone screaming in pain. Risako screamed and pinched Yurina so hard she was almost screaming herself. Chinami looked around.  
  
“Hello? Who’s there?” she asked.  
  
“Chinami?” a familiar voice said.  
  
“Saki!” Risako yelled. She jumped up and ran towards the sound. Chinami and Yurina followed her and saw Saki lying on the ground. Risako kneeled and hugged her.  
  
“Where did you come from?” Yurina looked in shock at Saki.  
  
“I told you we would come in handy,” Chinami said with a grin. Then everyone focused on Saki. She looked pale and had red eyes, but looked at the girls with a big smile.  
  
“I’m glad you guys are alright,” she said.  
  
“We? You were in more danger than all of us,” Yurina said.  
  
“How did you return to our world?” Chinami asked.  
  
“I'm not sure myself. What I remember is that I was telling Maasa we should continue. And then a bright light blinded me. I fell and then… I was here.”  
  
“So Maasa is also here?”  
  
“I have no idea. Maybe she – “  
  
Saki stopped talking and made a serious face. “She made a portal and forced me to enter it.”  
  
“What?” Risako, Chinami and Yurina said at the same time.  
  
“So she wants to save Miyabi on her own?”  
  
“I think so.”  
  
“Then we should help her!” Risako sat on her knees and looked determined.  
  
“How do you think we can get to her?” Chinami asked.  
  
“I don’t care! We must!”  
  
“Risako-chan,” Saki started. She grabbed her arms and looked in her eyes. “There really isn’t anything we can do. All we can do is hope that Maa-chan, Miyabi-chan and Momo are coming out of there safely, okay?”  
  
Risako nodded, but she looked like she could burst out crying any minute. Saki hold her to comfort her. Chinami and Yurina were looking at each other with a worried expression.  
  
*  
  
Maasa jumped to the right and barely managed to prevent the ghost of touching her. Maasa quickly stood up and wanted to grab her stone. But then the ghost attacked her again. Maasa let the stone fall in front of her, making a wall between the ghost and her. Maasa gasped and leaned forward. The ghost couldn’t get passed the wall, and she gave smile. She then leaned on the wall.  
  
“Well, aren’t we being smart.”  
  
“Who the heck… are you,” Maasa brought out.  
  
“Hasn’t Benjamin ever talked about me?” she said. “My name is Motoko, one of the people who passed away with a tragic end, here in this museum. Even after a hundred years, I still didn’t lose my sense. All we want to do is to take over a human’s body and to be alive again. But Benjamin’s goal isn’t the same as mine anymore.” She laughed now. “He thinks that _you_ can make this curse go away and save all of us!”  
  
She was still laughing. Maasa felt her body aching as the stone still prevented Motoko to pass. She kept listening to Motoko, as she heard footsteps coming near. Is it Miyabi? If so, she picked the best time to show herself.  
  
“Luckily I have made a pact with someone who will listen to me and does everything I say. How easy to manipulate weak humans like yourself. And it will be so much fun if you find out who is responsible for all of this.”  
  
“Maasa!”  
  
A door opened, and Miyabi stood there with Benjamin. Miyabi looked at Motoko with fear, but she did want to go and help Maasa.  
  
“Oh how cozy in here! I haven’t seen you here in a while Benjamin.” Motoko waved to Benjamin, but he didn’t move an inch. He looked worriedly at Maasa, but she nodded that she was okay.  
  
“But wait, we miss someone,” Motoko grinned. “Momoko, I still want to thank you for bringing her with you.”  
  
“What, Momo is here?” Maasa asked. She then saw Momoko coming from the door. She didn’t look in Maasa’s eyes. “Don’t tell me you did this.”  
  
Momoko bit her lip, but nodded.  
  
“But she saved me!” Miyabi said, trying to change Maasa’s mind. “It was all a big mistake, and – “  
  
Motoko burst out in laughter. “A mistake? Bringing her three friends to a perilous place is of course the most normal thing to do.”  
  
“Shut up Motoko,” Benjamin said. Motoko stopped laughing, and looked at Maasa again. Motoko was still leaning against the invisible wall. Maasa felt her sweat drops rolling over her face and her back. She didn’t know it took so much power to let out a single ghost. She could handle that easily at first.  
  
“Let’s see how long you can hold it.” Motoko made a strong face. She hit the wall with her hand. Maasa gasped. It felt like an electric shock sapped out her energy, but was still standing. Then Motoko pushed the wall with her whole body. Maasa screamed.  
  
Miyabi looked in terror to what was happening. She didn’t know what to do. She looked at Benjamin, hoping he could do something. But he still floated in the same spot. His eyes closed.  
  
“What are you doing?” Miyabi said in disbelief.  
  
Then he opened them. “The future isn’t looking good. I should come in action then.”  
  
He flew to Motoko. When she wanted to push the wall again, Benjamin punched her in her face. Motoko was sent of flying and disappeared through a wall. He then grabbed the stone and gave it to Maasa, who was looking like she could pass out any minute.  
  
“You know what to do,” he said.  
  
“I… I can’t,” Maasa whispered. If she closed her eyes she wouldn’t wake up, and she was fighting to keep herself standing up.  
  
Suddenly she felt a soft hand on hers. Momoko standing in front of her. “Let’s do this together.”  
  
Miyabi stood next to Momoko with a determined look. “Count me in.”  
  
Maasa stretched her arms. Momoko held her right arm, Miyabi her left arm. They all closed their eyes. Maasa felt the powers of her friends. They all heard Motoko returning to the room. She screamed angrily with a high voice. She approached the three girls.  
  
_“This is goodbye then.”_ __  
  
_“Why? I won’t release your spirit.”_  
  
_“Not mine, but all the ghosts here. You three have enough power to lift up this curse. I haven’t told you this, but you are lucky you got good friends. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. Because of you I won't become as crazy as Motoko. I hope you won’t forget me”_  
  
The stone became warm. Miyabi and Momoko screamed their lungs out. Maasa whispered goodbye, and released the power out of the stone.  
  
*  
  
“Shall we go back?”  
  
Saki sat up straight, but Risako still wouldn’t wake up. She slide to Saki’s legs but kept sleeping. Chinami looked up to check how late it was on her flip phone.  
  
“Are we giving up?” Yurina asked.  
  
“No. But maybe the others are already back and are waiting for us at the front.”  
  
Yurina stretched out and yawned. The only sound was now coming from the ticking of Chinami’s phone and Risako's deep breathing. Saki shook Risako, but she kept snoozing..  
  
Then Chinami suddenly gasped, what made Saki and Yurina jumping in the air.  
  
“What is it? You really scared me!” Yurina said angrily.  
  
“I see that Miyabi’s phone is not that far from here,” Chinami said, still looking at her phone.  
  
Risako opened her eyes and stood up. She grabbed Chinami’s phone and left the three girls sitting there.

“Miyabi~!”  
  
The others didn’t wait any longer and followed her. When they reached the place, they saw Maasa, Momoko and Miyabi lying down on the ground. They were all asleep, and looked unharmed.  
  
“They’re back,” Risako said, her tears dropping on the floor. “They’re all back.”  



	10. Epilogue

The clock was ticking. It was still raining hard, and you could hear some soft sounds of the storm.  
Those were the only sounds you could hear in the hotel room from Risako, Yurina and Maasa. Chinami, Yurina and Risako were sleeping in the other rooms, while Saki and Momoko stayed with Miyabi and Maasa in this room. The two girls still hadn’t woke up since the staff helped them carrying to the hotel. Momoko was the first to wake up, and found Saki on the bed Miyabi was sleeping in. Saki told her how they got here, and wanted to wait ‘till everyone woke up before she went to sleep with the others.  
But ever since Momoko woke up, it has been very quiet. There was a strange atmosphere in the room. Momoko felt uncomfortable with this and looked around the room, but Saki looked calmly to Miyabi. She looked pale and had bags under her eyes.  
  
“Are you feeling better?” Momoko asked with a high, soft voice to Saki. She nod once, but didn’t look to Momoko. The clock made three loud ticks. Three AM.  
  
“You don’t want to sleep?” Momoko asked. “I can stay here and wait for them to – “  
  
“No, I stay here,” Saki said quickly. She sighed, leaned to the wall and was now looking to the clock.  
  
“You don’t trust me?”  
  
Finally, Saki looked in Momoko’s eyes. She saw that she looked worried, and it was like she could almost cry.  
  
“No Momo, it’s not like that…” Saki started, but was cut off when they heard someone moan. Miyabi yawned, closed her eyes a bit ‘cause of the light and sat on her bed.  
  
“Where…am I?” Miyabi looked to her right and left, but she later noticed that Saki was sitting next to her and Momoko who was in the bed across the room. “Are we safe? Are we out of the mansion?”  
  
Saki told the same story when Momoko woke up. Miyabi nod her head after every sentence. Not that she understood everything Saki told.  
This time, Momoko didn’t say a word. She grabbed her knees and looked to the side. She kind of expected this to happen. Not everyone could forgive her for what she did.  
  
“So everything is alright now? All the ghosts are gone?”  
  
Momoko could never really explain why she did it. They didn’t know how she felt all these days, so they wouldn’t understand. They haven’t experienced this pain they caused.  
  
“I think so. Right, Momo?”  
  
Saki and Miyabi looked to her. She hesitated for a second, but when she wanted to answer, a deep voice spoke first. “I shouldn’t trust everything she says.”  
  
Maasa turned her head. She’s been apparently awake for a while.  
  
“Maasa!” Miyabi said happily. Saki looked relieved, but quickly looked serious. She and Maasa were thinking about the same thing.  
  
“What’s wrong?” Miyabi asked, who didn’t understand the sudden change of the mood. She saw the angry face of Maasa, and Saki’s difficult look. Momoko made herself as small as she could.  
  
“Why?” Maasa asked, looking to Momoko. She looked like she could push the little girl out of the bed, but she stayed, waiting for an answer.  
  
“Maa, relax.” Saki tried to calm Maasa down. “Maybe she has a good reason for all of this.”  
  
“I would like to hear that,” Maasa snarled.  
  
“But not now, Maa. You are tired, we are tired. It’s the best to settle this later.”  
  
Maasa pushed the blanket of her, sat up and almost yelled her words. “Later? How can I sleep when there is a traitor in this room?”  
  
“She’s not a traitor!” Miyabi defended. “She helped us at the end, right?”  
  
“That doesn’t make her a hero,” Maasa snapped. “Don’t you realize that because of her, we were trapped in that place and you almost died?”  
  
“I don’t care about that anymore! She saved me risking her life, and that makes her still our friend!”  
  
“Friends don’t sent their friends to a life threatening place! I can’t imagine a reason for this!”  
  
“SHUT UP!”  
  
Saki stood up and gave a warning look to Miyabi and Maasa. “We can’t come further if you two will continue this conversation. Miya, I don’t think you have any idea what Momoko has done. I know you’re protecting her, but it’s the best to only speak when you know everything about this. And Maa, I know that you’re tired – “  
  
“So are you,” Maasa said and she gazed to the wall.  
  
“That’s not the point!” Saki took a deep breath and she calmly continued. “I don’t scream in the middle of the night after I just woke up. I beg you to understand that we have to talk about this without getting mad, though I know it’s hard,” Saki spoke the last words quick before Maasa wanted to interrupt her again.  
  
“So, I bet Momo told the other about her story. Do you want to tell it to us too?” Saki sat next to Miyabi again. They and Maasa looked at Momoko, who hadn’t moved an inch. She slowly lifted up her head. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks wet. She sniffed and wiped out her tears.  
  
Momoko told her story with a soft voice and sobbed a few times. The whole room was quiet, even the weather helped this time. Momoko told about her feeling lonely, that Motoko approached her in the time she felt weak, convinced her to make the portal and that her feelings would go away.  
  
The clock made one loud tick. 3.30 AM.  
  
“I wanted to save you after I saw the c - camera men coming out of the mansion without you, I re - really did. But she kept r - repeating me all the things you all said to me. She exaggerated of course, but I… I was stupid enough to believe everything she said.”  
  
“So why did you came back for us?” Maasa asked.  
  
Miyabi stared to her. “Isn’t that obvious? Because she wanted to make up for what she did! Do you still not trust her?”  
  
“Please Suu-chan, I feel bad for everything I did.” Momoko’s lip trembled, and she felt warm tears falling on her cheeks again.  
  
“It’s not like that!” Maasa placed her hand on her cheek and let out a sigh. “It’s just that the way you act now Momo, is totally not like you!”  
  
“Eh?” Saki and Miyabi said together. Even Momoko looked curious to Maasa.  
  
“We as a 7-nin group all have the responsibility of how everyone feels. We as a group failed to do that, so you had all the right to not to come rescue us.”  
  
Maasa stood up and walked to Momoko. Saki and Miyabi also got out of bed. When the three girls lined up, they made a bow and said together; “We’re sorry!”  
  
Momoko’s hands were on her mouth of shock. Tears fell on her bed. She also stood up. They all hugged each other and burst into tears.  
Maasa felt relieved after being in pressure all this time. She never thought that Momoko betrayed her. She wanted Momoko to tell them everything she felt, and not cropping it up. She knew that being harsh to Momoko only helped her to speak her true feelings.  
  
The girls all smiled at each other. They all cramped in Momoko’s bed, what ended them all giggling. After a lot of pushing, the four girls somehow fitted in the bed. Saki lied on the edge and let out her leg, so they would all fit.  
There was a pause.  
  
“So, what happened to the mansion?” Miyabi broke the silence. She lied between Saki and Momoko, and felt like she was being crushed. Maasa lied on her side, leaning her back to the cold wall. None of the girls felt very comfortable, but they felt happy being together.  
  
“Oh yeah, did you lift up the curse?” Saki asked.  
  
Maasa nodded. “Yeah, Benjamin and the other ghosts all left that place and finally move on. If I’m right, the ghost dimension has also vanished.”  
  
“So Benjamin is also gone?” Miyabi asked, a bit less excited.  
  
“Why, you miss him?” Momoko asked.  
  
“Well, I found him kinda cute.”  
  
“Cute? I found him a bit harsh at the end.” Momoko referred to when everyone in the mansion was together with Motoko. She remembered him being very calm when Motoko was attacking Maasa.  
  
“It’s true that actions can be weird, but he’s 100 years older than he is originally. You know, he even blushed to me.”  
  
Maasa chuckled. “Ironic,” she muttered.  
  
“Hm? What do you mean?” Miyabi asked, but didn’t get an answer. She couldn’t turn to face her because of the lack of space, so she let it be.  
  
“Maa got lucky she had someone like Benjamin,” Momoko said. “Motoko was someone who knew your feelings very well. She can manipulate you so easily.”  
  
“You don’t have to think about those anymore Momo,” Miyabi said. “We are here for you now.”  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
There was a pause again. And again, Miyabi disturbed the silence. “I wanna take a shower. That place was so dirty. And you also smell bad, Saki.”  
  
She expected Saki to argue with her, but there was no response.  
  
“Saki-chan?” Momoko said. She sat on the bed to check on her, what caused some consequences. Miyabi was pushed to the side and Saki smacked on the ground. Maasa was squashed to the wall and couldn’t breathe. She coughed.  
  
“Sorry, sorry!” Momoko whined. Maasa waved with her hand to let her know it wasn’t serious, but gave a painful face. Miyabi and Momoko jumped of the bed and crouched next to Saki.  
  
“Are you all – “ Miyabi stopped in her sentence. Saki lied peacefully on the cold floor sleeping. Apparently, she fell asleep while the others were talking, and didn’t woke up from her fall.  
  
“Haha, look Suu-chan. She’s still sleeping,” Momoko looked to Maasa, but she was also sleeping deep on the bed. She had spread her arms and legs, taking all the space of the one person bed.  
  
Momoko looked to Miyabi, and the two girls giggled.  
  
“Let’s carry Saki to a bed,” Miyabi suggested. They  laid Saki on the bed Maasa was originally sleeping in and they turned off the lights. The two returned to Miyabi’s bed and snuggled in.  
  
“Goodnight Momo,” Miyabi whispered.  
  
“Goodnight Miya.” With a smile, Momoko closed her eyes.  
  


# The End


End file.
